


Shattered Glass

by ValAishlym



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:13:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4217727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValAishlym/pseuds/ValAishlym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A letter from Noah's presumed dead clan turns his world upside down. Can the inquisition stand to have Noah as their leader considering nearly all they knew about the elf is a lie. How will Noah and Dorian's relationship fair when another face is thrown in the mix, claiming he is Noah's rightful life-partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Letters From The Dead

**Author's Note:**

> This has been plaguing me since I wrote the drabble "[History](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4098964)" . I've been working on this here and there since then.
> 
> Notes because we might need 'em:
> 
> -Vimmarkan = Place of Vimmark. It is Vimmark Mountains in the Free Marches, north of Kirkwall. 
> 
> -This story is kind of AU'y as there is very little following of the main-main plot, mission by mission. HOWEVER, There will be instances where there will be heavy spoilers. Some missions will not be completed or followed as they progress in the game.
> 
> -English is the main language of Thedas.
> 
> -Most Elven, especially when spoken in long lengths, will be  underlined like this
> 
> -Aeradhen Clan's way of life is tremendously different than that of other Dalish clans. Aeradhen's way of life share elements of the Qunari and Dwarven's way of life.

**Cover by:[@ZakimoriTakewara](https://www.wattpad.com/user/ZakimoriTakewara) on wattpad**

 

** **Char: Dorian & Noah** **

** **Shattered Glass** **

** **Letters From The Dead** **

Dorian sighed. There was nothing he liked better than lounging about in the Inquisitor’s bedchambers, as naked as the day he was born. Noah’s bed was much more comfortable than his own. The added perk of having the inquisitor himself all but draped about his body was in his ‘this is nice’ list too. 

Noah’s head was tucked under Dorian’s chin. Short, soft puffs of his breath tickled the mage’s neck indicating the elf was asleep or nearly there. A naked, strong, lightly muscled arm draped across Dorian’s chest, thin fingers tucked under the mage’s back. A pale, naked thigh kicked over Dorian’s hip, tangling through his legs. 

Dorian let out a light sigh. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn’t. 

“Stop sighing,” Noah said, voice thick with sleep. Dorian chuckled.

“I cannot help but sound like a love sick puppy around you, amatus,” Dorian said with a light grin.

“Puppies don’t sigh.”

“They would if they had someone like you on top of them.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

Dorian sniggered, “You are far from fat, amatus.”

“You really are calling me fat, aren’t you?”

Dorian snorted. “You always find an insult in everything I say to you, don’t you?”

“I only do so because it annoys you, ma vhenan.” Noah pulled his hand from under Dorian and lazily traced random patterns into the mage’s chest. He gave off a large, loudly exaggerated yawn.

Dorian rolled his eyes and sighed again. He let out a surprised breath when Noah poked him on his nipple. “Hey, hey! Watch those claws of yours, those buds of mines are rather sensitive.”

“Claws?” Noah sat up to look at Dorian with a mock miffed look. “My nails aren’t that long!”

“Do you wish to see my back, amatus?” A slow, sultry grin graced Dorian’s face when the elf’s face flushed a dark scarlet.

“No.”

“Do not be embarrassed, my little cherub. The scars you inflict on me are only just trophies of war.” Dorian’s eyes darkened, his grin widening as Noah’s flush darkened. “Not to mentioned the little battle scars are always accompanied by your lovely screaming voice.”

“You’re so perverse…”

“It amazes me that someone your age-“

“Dorian, there is a balcony railing with your name on it,” Noah warned, his flush lessening and his eyes narrowing. Dorian smirked, leaning over to place an open mouth kiss on Noah’s cheek.

“I only jest, amatus.” Dorian sighed.

“Stop sighing.”

“I cannot help it, as I’ve said before, amatus. How’s about you give my mouth something to distract it from its current problem, hm?” 

Noah rolled his eyes. “If you wanted a kiss, why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because I know being very wordy annoys you to the point of violence. I like a feisty Noah.” Dorian smirked as Noah glared at him.

“So you _do,_ do that on purpose! You bastard!” Noah growled. Dorian laughed before placing a hand on the nap of Noah’s neck and pulling him towards him, crashing their lips together.

Noah grabbed Dorian’s hand from his neck and slammed it next the mage’s head. He grabbed Dorian’s other hand and slammed it on the other side of his head. Noah pulled away from the mage’s lips, his own eyes now a darker green from lust. “My turn to make _you_ scream,” He said as he maneuvered himself to straddle the mage.

“Hmm, I like where this is going,” Dorian purred.

“Inquisitor, I have urgent n- Maker’s breath!” 

Noah let out a frustrated groan and let his body fall limply against Dorian, burying his face back in the mage’s neck. Dorian grunted at the sudden drop then rolled his eyes and looked towards Cullen who was shielding his eyes with a clipboard.

“Really, must you ruin a good moment at each turn, Commander?” Dorian said. He sighed and pulled the blankets tossed to the side up to cover their naked bodies.

“I did not know the inquisitor would have…company again,” Cullen said. A noticeable shudder shook the commander, causing Dorian to smirk.

“I’ve been in here everyday for more than a month.”

“Yes, well, a letter just came in for the inquisitor and it is urgent that he gets it.” Cullen pulled a roll of parchment from…Dorian wasn’t so sure where he pulled it from.

“Go away, Cullen,” Noah said, muffled slightly by Dorian’s neck.

“It is urgent that you read this, Inquisitor. I believe it is from your clan.”

“Tell them I’ll visit Wycome later…I just want to sleep for the rest of this week. I’m still sore from last week’s mission. I fucking hate dragons, you know.”

“I don’t think thats the only reason you’re sore, amatus,” Dorian said with a chuckle which was interrupted by Noah smacking him in the gut.

“Shut up, Dorian,” Noah grumbled.

“The reports all say you sustained little to no damage,” Cullen said, flipping through the papers on his clipboard. Noah pulled away from Dorian’s neck and glared at Cullen.

“Hello! Look at my hair!” Noah growled, pointing at his head. His hair was, indeed, shorter than Cullen had ever seen it. Instead of it flowing over the elf’s slight, broad shoulders, it was cut to the nap of his neck. His bangs were even snipped a bit shorter than he remembered them to be. “I had to cut it, it was so singed.”

“Correction, I cut it,” Dorian piped in.

“Shut up, you.” Noah turned his glare on Dorian. Dorian gave him a closed eye smile but said nothing farther.

“This isn’t from clan Lavellan,” Cullen said. Noah nearly snapped his neck turning to look at Cullen.

“What? How is it from my clan if its not from clan Lavellan?”Noah asked. He pushed himself up from Dorian, the blanket sliding down to pool about his waist.

“It says Aeradhen of Vimmarkan.” Cullen held up the parchment to show the symboled seal that held it closed. It was a large tree cradled by a circle. It nearly resembled the tree of life that was hailed as the symbol of Mythal, except the branches were thicker and less in abundance. There were four flowering branches at the top of the tree with a single thick one at the bottom of the circle, presumably the trunk of the tree.

All the color drained from Noah’s skin. He stared at the parchment with wide eyes filled with an emotion neither Cullen or Dorian had ever seen displayed on the elf’s face. The light colored vallaslin adorning his face, depicting Elgar’nan, stood out starkly from the almost sickly, pallor color his skin took. He wasn’t just frightened, he was horrified.

“Inquisitor?” Cullen asked slowly.

“G-Give it here,” Noah commanded thinly. Cullen made his way to the side of the bed and held the parchment out. Noah took it from him with shaky hands. He broke the seal and opened the parchment. The entirety of the letter was written in elven. This was definitely not from clan Lavellan. The Keeper knew an amazing amount of elven, but it was still watered down to the point it seemed as if she spoke in short utterances like the rest of the Dalish clans.

 

> Noalanniel Paimael Aeradhen,
> 
> We have been searching relentlessly for your person. We had given up hope some time ago that your life had been ended by some means that could have been preventable had we been able to find you. We are glad that you have found somewhere that has provided you with a place to rest your head that was safe enough for you to have lived on for as long as you have. Please, do not take that the wrong way, as we know you and you know yourself well enough to get the gist of what we speak of. Now that we have learned of your whereabouts, we plan to send members of the clan to make sure all is well in the place you hold residence. Please note, we do this only because we are concerned about your well-being. If the members do not think where you are now is acceptable, they are instructed to bring you back to the city immediately. The group who've volunteered to journey so far from our city is led by Cylan. The group contains those you should be familiar with.
> 
> Warm regards,
> 
> Keeper Taerand Sothon Aeradhen

“What does it say, amatus?” Dorian asked. The elf had went stiff, the letter slipping from his hands. Dorian picked it up from his chest to look it over but sat it down when he realized it was in elven.

“Inquisitor?” Cullen asked, frowning. “Theres another one addressed to the inquisition itself. I did not open it as I thought it would be for you as well.” There was no response. Noah was stiff, staring down at the bed with wide, unseeing eyes. “Inquisitor?”

“Noah?” Dorian placed a hand on the elf’s waist and shook him. “Noah, what does it say?”

“They’re coming…oh Creators, they’re coming…” Noah whispered lowly. “How did they even find me? Why would they go through so much trouble to find me? How did they know…”

“Inquisitor, who are these Aeradhen of Vimmarkan? Are they enemies?”

“Isn’t Aeradhen the name of your clan before Lavellan?” Dorian asked. He furrowed his brow. “That makes no sense. I thought you said your clan was destroyed.” Noah was silent. Dorian sat up, causing the elf to slide into his lap, and raised an eyebrow. He looked at Cullen who just shrugged.

“Inquisitor, what shall our next steps be?” There was still no response.

There were so many questions and thoughts exploding through Noah’s head, he was beginning to feel lightheaded.

“Inquisitor?” 

The two were shocked into silence when Noah’s eyes rolled up into his head and the elf fell limply against Dorian.

“Did he just faint?” Cullen asked slowly.

“What does the other one say?” Dorian asked, looking up from Noah’s limp form. Cullen opened the parchment Dorian didn’t even notice he had in his hand.

 

> Inquisition,
> 
> You have in your possession someone of great importance to us. We have not the slightest clue as to how you acquired one Noalanniel Paimael, but it is essential that we know about his well-being. Paimael is a young and promising member of our clan and it has been a hard few years without his presence within the city. Our clan’s city is a well-kept secret only allowed access to very few people. We do not wish to disclose the location by letter, least the letter fall into the wrong hands. We will, instead, come to visit your hold in Fereldan that we have heard so much rumor about. As this letter is being sent, a group from our clan has already started the journey towards your hold. We have entrusted this mission to our most knowledgeable and talented warriors. If rumor holds true, then we believe that our assistance to your inquisition would prove to be very helpful. Cylan Sothon leads the group. He is one of our finest warriors. Cylan is joined by Athevera Panonril, a very promising arcane warrior; Thelris Sardis, one of our finest archers; Arvari, a loyal Qunari warrior; Gethrahel Cyrmet, another of our finest warriors; and Shiasiara Panonril, one of our finest hunters. We hope these new additions to your army will make a difference with your cause.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Keeper Taerand Sothon Aeradhen

“It seems like they believe he is held as a captive,” Dorian said, massaging his chin with one hand while the other rubbed circles on the back of the unconscious elf in his lap.

“His reaction was odd, though,” Cullen said, frowning. “He has spoke little of the Aeradhen clan. I only knew in passing that it was the name of his clan. This Aeradhen of Vimmarkan…The letter says a city. Could it be an elven city?”

“With a Qunari?” Dorian raised a brow. “This, my good general, is one of those wait and see moments.”

“I will run this by Josephine, in the meantime.”Cullen nodded his head at Dorian, turning to take his leave.

“Hold on a minute.”

Cullen turned to look at Dorian who was holding out the letter the elf had read.

“Maybe Solas could translate that. He’s the only other elf in the hold that is trustworthy, hm?” Dorian said. Cullen nodded and took the letter.

“Whenever he gets up, tell him we should call a war room meeting about this.”

“As you say.” Dorian nodded. Cullen nodded back and took his leave. “Why, in the Maker’s name, would you have such a negative reaction to all this?” Dorian mumbled against Noah’s neck.


	2. Meet and Greet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember underlined like this means its in elven
> 
> I apologize in advance for any confusion from when people are talking. I might keep my chapters to a max of 2k when posting only because there might be a ton of times where people will be speaking in elven and I actually have to go back through the entire chapter to underline things because copy/paste doesn't keep underlines.

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**Meet and Greet**

Dorian had dressed himself in his usual magic garb. He was now faced with the task of dressing the inquisitor, who had yet to regain consciousness. He’d managed the elf’s shirt and pants but he was having trouble with the elf’s shoes. He rolled his eyes up, placing his hands on his hips. “What am I even doing?” He asked, leaning over the elf and smacking him lightly in the face. “Noah, you need to come back to the waking world and put on your shoes.” He was still befuddled as to why he even dressed the elf this far. He should be afraid for how deeply he was enamored with the elf but found he couldn’t care less. “Up and at ‘em, amatus.” A couple more light slaps and light green eyes peered up at him.

“Wha?”

“You fainted,” Dorian said. He helped the elf up. “Cullen suggests a war room meeting.”

“…” 

Dorian frowned at the elf’s silence. “If you’re going to faint again, please wait until after we get into the war room. You are a lot heavier than you look…I’d rather not carry you all the way there.” No smart-alecky remarks or snarky rebuttals. “And your shoes. They’re so tiny - why are your feet so tiny? I’m almost jealous.” Nothing. The elf was stiff and completely silent. That was strange and totally unexpected. Dorian, at least, expected the elf to glare at him. “Noah?”

“Huh?” Noah finally looked at Dorian, his eyes misty with an emotion Dorian couldn’t quite place.

“Are you alright?” Dorian placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder.

“Just…surprised…”

“I guess having one’s assumed dead clan contact you from the beyond can put a slight scare on anyone. I’m sure it’d even have Corypheus shaking in his boots.” Dorian paused. “I wonder if he even wears boots.” He expected a chuckle from the elf but all he got was a cold look. Dorian would take anything, at this point, other than the blank stare the elf had given him when the news was first brought to them. “Now that you’re expressing an emotion I can place, hows about you put _your_ boots on and get down to the war room.” Dorian patted the elf’s shoulder. “I’ll tell the others.”

Noah plopped down on the bed and watched Dorian descend the stairs.

* * *

 

Noah massaged his temples as he walked into the war room. Everyone was in there: Vivienne, Varric, Solas, Iron Bull, Cassandra, Sera, Dorian, Blackwall, and the three advisors. The only one missing was Cole but he was probably in there somewhere, blending in. “Inquisitor, what shall we do to prepare for this Aeradhen of Vimmarkan?” Cullen asked, breaking the tense silence.

“Isn’t Aeradhen the name of your clan? The one that was destroyed.” Blackwall asked.

“Yes, yes,” Noah waved him off. “Technically they were never destroyed but I like to think they were…”

“Eh?” There was a chorus of similar remarks.

“Oh, Creators, this is real…” Noah mumbled.

“Is there anything else we should know about them? To prepare for their arrival?” Josephine asked.

“I don’t even know who is arriving,” Noah said, running a shaky hand through his hair. “All I know is Cylan and…he’s not the most tolerable when it comes to dealing with humans…” Cullen made a noise.

“The letter mentioned who would be coming,” Cullen piped in. He held up the parchment that he’d read to Dorian earlier. “Athevera, Thelris, Arvari, Gethrahel, and Shiasiara.” Noah stiffened noticeably.

“Refer to Gethrahel as Ser Cyrmet and nothing more or less. He will gut you like a nug if you call him by any other name,” Noah said.

“Anything in particular we should ready ourselves for?” Vivienne asked. 

Noah suddenly pointed at Josephine. “Josephine, none of that crappy elven you did when you first met me. They’ll find it insulting.” He pointed and glared at Solas. “Solas, do _not_ insult the Dalish, no matter how childish you think they are. If Cyrmet or Cylan hear you, they _will slit your throat._ ” Noah pointed at Sera with a heated look. “You, as an elf, will come across as a disgrace if you utter a single insult towards the elven kind and praise humans. They _will_ bash your face in. Even Shiasiara and Athevera.”

Sera stuck her tongue out at Noah, causing his expression to darken more.

“I have warned you. Heed my warnings and live,” Noah said. He pointed at Varric. “Ease up on the crude humor.” He pointed at Vivienne. “Don’t utter a single word about human politics to them. They do not care and may even take what you say as offensive.” He pointed at Cassandra. “You just avoid them as much as possible.” 

Cassandra glared at him and crossed her arms. “What do you mean by that?” She asked.

“You’re a hardheaded human, they’re stubborn elves. You serve the Maker and see Andraste as divine, they don’t. You act before you think. You say before you think. They will slit your throat before you think.” Noah said.

“They sound like very violent individuals…” Josephine muttered. 

“This Arvari person…This doesn’t sound like an elf name,” Iron Bull piped in.

“That is because it is not. Arvari is a Qunari, or what you would call a Tal-Vashoth. I cannot stress how important it is that you _do not_ try to engage in Qunlat with him. He will smash your face in. He speaks elven and lives by elven standards. He is apart of the Aeradhen clan and the clan sees him as one of their own,” Noah said.

“Hm. This clan of yours nearly sounds like living under the Qun.” Iron Bull mumbled.

Noah pointed at Leliana. “Save your Maker and Andraste-chosen BS for later. They _will_ slit your throat.” Noah shook his head. “In fact, make sure no one even utters Andraste’s name.”

“That will be difficult, considering your title and what you’re known as, Inquisitor…” Cullen said, frowning. 

“Right…” Noah scratched at the nap of his neck.

“Besides this Cylan and Cyrmet being overlords of violence,” Varric said, causing Noah to glare at him. “And Arvari being Qunari period,” Iron Bull gave Varric an annoyed look. “What about the other three?”

“I don’t remember much of Thelris…” Noah frowned, crossing his arms. “He never came around.”

“Around where?” Varric asked. Noah stiffened.

“Nowhere. Athevera and Shiasiara are sisters. They’ll probably engage you more as…I remember them being merchants.”

“Merchants?”

“Like dwarves, Aeradhen had something of a caste system. The Merchants are the ones who travel to do business with humans or other Dalish clans.” Noah furrowed his brow. “Dorian,”

“Hm?” Dorian hummed.

“Keep a grip on your sarcastic tongue - and your knack for crude jokes.” Noah narrowed his eyes when Dorian opened his mouth. “Athevera might appreciate your wit, but the others will not.”

“I don’t know if this is a compliment or an insult,” Dorian said with a shake of his head.

“Take your pick,” Noah said, narrowing his eyes. “I need to talk to you about something later.” Dorian nodded.

“When do you think they’ll get here?” Leliana asked.

“They’re coming from a city called Vimmarkan,” Cullen said. “Where ever that is.”

“Vimmarkan? Place of Vimmark? I’ve never heard of this place,” Solas said with a frown. “Is it an elven city?” He looked at Noah.

“It is. In the Vimmark Mountains,” Noah explained.

“That’s just north of Kirkwall,” Cullen added. 

“Say if they left just now, how long would it take them to get here?” Blackwall asked.

“Depending on how fast they’re going, I’d give it 8-10 days,” Varric mumbled, stroking his chin. “That is, if they’re moving without sleeping.”

“The letter said they had already sent them over before they sent out the letter,” Josephine said with a frown. “They may already be on their way here. Who knows when the letter was actually sent and how far ahead of the letter the group from your clan was sent.”

“True,” Cullen mumbled. 

“Another wait and see situation,” Dorian said rather then asked. There was a mumbled chorus of agreement.

* * *

 

Noah’s head was throbbing. He’d spent majority of the day redecorating the hold. He’d told them to pull down the Andraste Draperies and replace them with the symbol of the inquisition. He had them change the decorations around the entire hold from being anything related to Andraste, which upset quite a few people, to a mixture of Orlaisian, Elven, and Fereldan decor.

He’d had many glare at him and some protest subtly. Then there were those who were loud with their protests. Noah wanted to snap all their necksHe’d rather they yell at him then the entire hold being bathed in blood. The inquisition may outnumber the small band coming to them but the Aeradhen clan’s warriors were ruthless and deadly. What they lacked in numbers, they made up for in experience and skill.

Noah made his way up the stairs to his chambers, sluggish in his steps. The whole day spent being yelled at and yelling at others was taking its toll now more than ever. His head hurt, his feet were killing him, his arms felt like strings, and overall he was a miserable mess. He couldn’t get over the fact that his clan knew were he was. _How long have they known?_ The question kept repeat itself over and over again.

With an exhausted moan, he plopped face first on the couch. He didn’t know how he’d deal with all this. Mentally, it was draining. His wary mind would soon begin to affect him physically too. “I surely hope you’re not planning on sleeping over there,” Dorian said.

“Please, I’m not in the mood for your words…” Noah said, muffled by the couch cushions. He felt a hand rub his back in soothing circles.

“Take off your shirt, get on the bed and lay on your stomach,” Dorian commanded. 

Noah grunted but pushed off the couch to do as asked. When he laid against the pillows, felt as if he could sleep for years. “Are my feet really that tiny?” Noah asked nonchalantly as he felt Dorian tug his boots off. He heard the plop as the mage threw his boots somewhere to his right.

“Oh, so, you did hear me?” 

Noah could hear the smirk in Dorian’s voice. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and slap the smirk off his face but that insinuated movement and at the moment, he didn’t feel like he was capable of movement. He let out a sigh as he felt Dorian work at his feet.

“I’ll have you feeling like gelatin in no time.”

* * *

 

Cullen looked up when he heard the door to his office open and close. Noah stood at the door, hand still holding the handle. He was staring down at the floor silently. After a long bout of silence, Cullen finally spoke up, “Is something the matter, Inquisitor?”

“You’re the only one who hasn’t complained at me,” Noah said. He let go of the door and sat down beside it. Cullen furrowed his brow at the elf’s odd behavior. 

“Complained about what?”

“Everywhere I walk, I see and hear them.” Noah sighed, leaning against the wall. He looked up at the ceiling. “They’re mad because I changed the draperies.”

“Ah, I see.” Cullen crossed his arms. “Everyone?”

“Mhm. Mother Gisela is the loudest. I really do hope they all heed my warnings….especially her. I have a feeling it may be safer to tell them to leave the hold for awhile.” Noah looked down at Cullen with his head still tilted up. “I really only trust you to handle this situation correctly.”

“Just me? What about Dorian? Varric? Leliana? Vivienne?” 

Noah slowly brought his head down to fully look Cullen in the eyes.

“Maybe Vivienne but the others, no way in hell,” Noah grunted. The two looked up when the door opened again. An inquisition soldier saluted to the two.

“Inquisitor, Commander! A small group of armed soldiers are just outside the gate requesting entrance. They say they are from Vimmarkan. They wish to also speak directly to the Inquisitor.” The soldier glanced down at Noah. A confused expression took hold of his face before he shook his head. “How should we continue, sirs?”

“Allow them entrance and lead them to the main all” Cullen said, crossing his arms. He nodded at the soldier and the soldier saluted and left. Cullen looked to Noah with a frown. “I was not expecting them to come a day after we receive the letter.”

“Whose to say we received it yesterday. Josephine’s desk is always a mess of papers.”

“Good point,” Cullen said as he made his way to Noah. He held out a hand and the elf took it. Helping Noah up, the two exited the office, Cullen walking ahead of the elf. Noah stopped walking and turned to look towards the main hall. Cullen, not hearing Noah’s footsteps, turned to regard the elf. “Inquisitor?”

“I keep gripping at nothing…” Noah grumbled. “I just can’t believe I’m awake, that this is actually happening.” 

Cullen was silent as he followed the elf’s gaze. He saw the group of 6 heavily armored, head to toe in armor that looked similar to templar armor, warriors walking behind two inquisition soldiers. One of the heavily armored warriors, who Cullen assumed was the Qunari considering he was larger than the others (and also the fact he had horns protruding from under his helmet), carried a giant axe on their back. The axe easily looked 2x heavier than any he’d ever seen. “One of them is a mage?”

“I’m sure her armor is lighter than it looks.” 

Cullen looked up to see Noah had continued walking. Cullen followed after the elf warrior.

* * *

 

When Cullen and Noah stepped into the main hall, Solas and Dorian behind them since they saw them walk through, they were greeted with the sight of the 6 warriors standing around speaking with the inquisition soldiers that had led them to the main hall. Varric, as usual, was standing next to the rotunda. He only glanced up when Noah stood beside him. Iron Bull, Krem, Cassandra, and Blackwall were just coming into the main hall, probably having seen the approaching soldiers. “And this Inquisitor person?” one of the soldiers, either Athevera or Shiasiara since the voice was female, asked. The inquisition soldiers pointed towards Noah and Cullen and Noah stiffened.

_This is really happening,_ Noah thought. Cullen and Noah approached the warriors as they turned to regard them.

“ Noalanniel, its been so long since I’ve laid eyes on you, ma lethallan. How have you faired thus far?” This person’s voice was slightly higher in pitch than the first, presumably one of the sisters yet again.

“ Well enough to still breathe, ” Noah said, his voice strained. Cullen glanced at the elf from the corner of his eyes. 

“Ah, where are our manners,” The female form before said. She pulled off her helmet to reveal a tanned face and a mop of black hair. Her eyes were narrow, amber, with almost cat-like slits for pupils. She had a light blue vallaslin etched on her forehead, depicting Mythal. “I am called Athevera Panonril of clan Aeradhen.” The one standing beside her took off her helmet to reveal an identical face. The only difference between the two were their hair styles. “This is my sister, Shiasiara Panonril.”

“Please to meet you,” Shiasiara said, flicking a lose strand of black hair from her face. Her hair, unlike her unruly twin’s, was braided from the front and ended in a bun at the back of her head.

The Qunari pulled his helmet off to reveal a purplish-grey face. He lack hair and had two large, thick horns protruding from his head. The horns angled backwards and curved forwards at the tip. The horns looked to be slightly bigger than Iron Bull’s. “I am called Avari,” he said.

“This is Gethrahel Cyrmet,” Athevera said, gesturing to the tallest of the elven warriors.

“You may refer to me as Ser Cyrmet,” Gethrahel growled. The man’s voice was deep and raspy. He didn’t take off his helmet.

“Yes, well,” Athevera was glaring at Gethrahel before turning her attention to the man standing on the other side of him, who’d already taken his helmet off to reveal a short mop of black hair. The vallaslin that adorned his face was light peach in color, nearly blending in with his skin which was a shade darker. His eyes, like Athevera and Shiasiara, were narrow and amber, though his pupil was not slit like their’s. “Thelris Sardis.” 

The elf simply nodded.

“I am called Cylan Sothon. I lead this group of representatives of the Aeradhen clan. You must be the leader of this inquisition?” The one that stood beside Avari stepped forward, pulling his helmet off. Under the helmet was a long, narrow face with narrow, forest green eyes. He had a long scar going from the tip of his left eyebrow down across his nose to stop an inch away from the tip of his nose. His hair, unlike the others, was not black but white. His hair was much longer then their’s, framing his face and stopping just past his shoulders. He had a portion his hair bound in a leather strap that fell over his shoulder. He was looking at Cullen when he addressed the head of the Inquisition.

“I am Cullen Ruthaford. I am not the head of the inquisition, I am just the Commander in charge of our army. This,” He gestured to Noah who was looking down at the ground. “is the leader of the Inquisition.” The next thing that happened surprised them all. Gethrahel laughed. It wasn’t a snigger or a low chuckle, it was loud boisterous laughter. Shiasiara was giggling and Cylan only raised an eyebrow. Athevera was glaring at Gethrahel and Arvari and Thelris stayed silent.

“ Noalanniel as leader of something other than a herd of Halla? ” Gethrahel asked through his laughter. “ Couldn’t even do that properly.”

“ Come now, its not totally unbelievable,” Athevera huffed. “ Laughing like some common shem about something as serious as this, Cyrmet? You should be ashamed of yourself!” Athevera was glaring at Gethrahel again. Gethrahel only continued to laugh.

“ An elf leading an army of shems, who better suited than someone from clan Aeradhen?” Arvari said. That silenced Gethrahel’s laughter. Noah looked up at Arvari with a grateful expression. The large Qunari only nodded silently.

“If you don’t mind my asking, where are we to sleep? Our journey has been long and restless. I would love a place to rest my wary head,” Shiasiara said. She had her arms crossed. “We don’t need special treatment, the soldiers barracks would do find - you do have those right?” 

Noah nodded. Cullen motioned for one of the inquisition soldiers standing nearby. “If you would?”

“Sir,” The soldier said, saluting Cullen. “Right this way.” He began walking past them to the exit of the main hall. Shiasiara fell in step with him along with Arvari, Thelris, and Athevera.

“The leader of the Inquisition, huh?” Gethrahel asked.

Noah could hear the smirk in his voice. He kept his gaze low but he could feel Cylan staring holes into the side of his face.

“Shall we move to the war room to discuss terms?” Cullen asked, looking at Noah. 

Noah nodded his head and started for the war room.

* * *

Standing around the war table was Leliana, Josephine, Cullen, Noah, Gethrahel, and Cylan. “I am Josephine Montilyet. I am the ambassador and chief diplomat of the Inquisition,” Josephine said, nodding her head at the two elven warriors. 

“I am Leliana, the spymaster of the inquisition,” Leliana said.

“Cullen Rutherford, as said earlier, I am the Commander and tactical advisor to the inquisition,” Cullen said.

“A pleasure,” Cylan nodded his head. “I am Cylan Sothon, son of the current Keeper of clan Aeradhen. I also serve The Guard as 2nd-in-command and translator. This is Ser Gethrahel Cyrmet, he serves the council, The Guard, and is one of our Teachers. You mentioned, earlier, terms. We are here at your disposal as representatives of clan Aeradhen. The only thing we ask of you is the safe return of Noalanniel back to the clan and that it be listed we helped end this blighted war.” 

The three advisors all exchanged looks before looking at Noah. He was silent and stiff, staring down at the war table. “Inquisitor?”

“Why do you want me to come back?” Noah asked after a long stretch of silence.

“ What kind of question is that? The clan-!” Gathrehal was interrupted by Cylan holding his hand up. Cylan stepped around the table. He glanced at Cullen who had tensed when he began his approach.

“ You know the reason why the clan wants you back. I share in that desire but I also have more, ” Cylan said. He stopped in front of Noah and place a hand on the elf’s cheek, shocking the three advisors. He used his grip to pull him up to face him. “I miss you, ma vhenan.  I apologize if it were I who has driven you- .”

Noah brush the elf’s touch away. “We agree to your terms; however,  you will refrain from touching me, ” Noah said, bringing his gaze back down. 

Cylan glanced at the three advisors with a frown before returning his gaze to Noah. “Very well,” He said.

“If you desire a room of your own, we have one vacancy left,” Josephine piped in.

“Actually, two,” Noah said, looking up at Cylan. “Dorian’s old room.” with the slight narrowing of his eyes, Noah walked past him. He stopped at the door and asked, “Cullen, is everything set for tomorrow’s departure?”

“Everything is as planned, Inquisitor,” Cullen replied. Noah nodded.

“We’ll leave in the morning then.” With that, Noah left the war room. Cylan stared after him and Gathrehal sighed.

“Those rooms, then?” Gathrehal asked.

“Right, if you would just follow me,” Josephine said as she started for the door.

 

 


	3. Dearly Departed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is the main language of Thedas (also referred to as 'common tongue')
> 
> Translations:  
> Ataas shokras= Qunlat (‘Glorious Struggles’ used as a greeting)  
> Vinek Kathas = Qunlat (A command to attack or ‘Seize them’)  
> Rapere eis = Tevene (Is loosely based on latin; meaning ’Catch them’)  
> Panahedan = Qunlat (‘Take refuge in safety’ meaning goodbye)

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**Dearly Departed**

Being manhandled and dragged about was something Dorian never tolerated, even from his elven lover. This time around, being dragged by his wrist through Skyhold’s halls, he didn’t mind as much given the elf’s current situation. Scratch that, he did mind it, he just tolerated it more. The elf was obviously peeved about something. There was a certain angry, red aura about the elf. Dorian kept his mouth shut as they made their way to the living quarters. He didn’t speak when they arrived at Dorian’s room. He said nothing when the elf ordered him to gather his belongings.

He should have been skeptical, but he wasn’t. He should question the elf about his odd behavior, but he didn’t. He did as he was commanded of and then followed behind the elf as he walked to his own quarters.

Dorian didn’t own much: a few robes and trinkets from home, a couple of bottles of cologne he’d acquired during their journeys, and a few books. He, himself, carried his robes and trinkets while the elf carried his books and cologne. The elf actually gave him an amused look when he realized what the bottles were, which brought a smirk to Dorian’s lips. They continued towards the elf’s room in silence.

Upon entering the room and walking up the few steps, Noah made his way over to his desk and sat the books and bottles down. Dorian laid the things he held on the couch and crossed his arms. “The suddenness of all of this?” Dorian asked.

“We needed a second vacancy. You practically already live in here,” Noah said, shrugging. “I gave them your room.”

“I should feel insulted that you didn’t consult me first.” Dorian made his way to Noah and placed a hand on his cheek. “Then again, there is truth in your words, I suppose.”

“Yeah.” Noah grabbed Dorian’s hand and pulled it away from his face with a light sigh through his nose. Dorian watched the elf walk silently to the balcony and lean against the railing. With a slight furrow in his brow, Dorian followed after him.

“Sovereign for your thoughts,” Dorian said. He leaned against the balcony entrance.

“I keep hoping this is some cruel nightmare that I will wake up from any moment,” Noah said.

“If Corypheus suddenly pops up and asks for a tea date, then you’ll know you’re actually asleep.” Dorian pushed away from the doorframe and walked to stand behind Noah. 

“Somehow I believe I’d rather that happen then live in this current dream…”

Dorian chuckled. “I’m sure Corypheus’s mannerisms would be more than enough to change your mind.” Dorian placed his hands on the elf’s hips, using his hold to guide Noah in an upright position. He twirled the elf around and the two gazed into each others’ eyes. “You look miserable. I thought you’d be happy to hear from your clan again.” 

Noah averted his gaze silently. “It’s complicated.”

Dorian stared at the elf in silence. He reached his hand out and placed it on the elf’s cheek, pulling the elf to look at him. They stared at each other some more before Dorian broke the gaze by kissing him.

That brief touch of lips made Noah wrap his arms tightly around Dorian’s neck. Dorian backed them into the room, towards the bed. The back of his legs hit the bed, causing him to sit. He pulled the elf into his lap without breaking their lip lock. 

Noah pulled away slightly to look Dorian in the eyes. They held each other’s gaze, their foreheads pressed together. Noah’s eyes closed as he let out a low sigh. He laid his head against the mage’s shoulder and Dorian wrapped his arms around the elf without a word.

It was quite obvious the elf didn’t want to take this moment any farther than kissing. Dorian was a little bit disappointed at that turn of events. He wouldn’t say he completely understood the elf’s disinterest in sex, but he could understand the elf’s frustrations and stress would not be resolved at the moment with sex.

 "Do you wish to speak about it?” Dorian asked. 

Noah didn’t reply for a long time, “No,” he said. “I…not now.”

“Whenever you’re ready, amatus, I’m all ears.” The two sat in total silence. Dorian had one arm wrapped loosely around the elf’s waist while the other rubbed slow circles on his back. His eyes cut to the side to glance at Noah when he heard the elf give a shuddering sigh.

* * *

 

Solas walked into the rotunda, just coming down from the library. He was greeted with the sight of one of the Vimmarkan soldiers standing around observing the paint on the wall. By the look of her braided, black hair, Solas assumed it was Shiasiara. “ Hello, ” Solas greeted. Shiasiara turned around to regard Solas.

“ Oh my, I wasn’t expecting another elf besides Noalanniel to be walking about. I am called Shiasiara, you are?” Shiasiara said, smiling at him.

“ I am Solas, pleased to meet you, Shiasiara. ” Solas nodded his head. 

Shiasiara’s eyes closed, her smile widening.

“ The feeling is mutual.” She turned her gaze back to the wall. “ These murals…I assume, by the style of the paintings, you did this, ” Shiasiara said.

“ Your assumptions are correct, but tell me, why was your first thought not Noalanniel? ” Solas asked.

“ Noalanniel…isn’t very bright nor creative, to put it bluntly. ” She shrugged her shoulders and turned to look at Solas. “ I assume the mural depicts your travels? ”

“ The different feats the inquisition has accomplished, yes.” Solas crossed his arms and nodded.

“ I came here thinking I wouldn’t see another elf. ” She was grinning. “ I have found one, at least, that isn’t so much different than our clan.”

“ What do you mean? ”

“ You see…our clan is old. Very old. The oldest clan living, to be exact.”  She turned away from Solas and looked up.  “We live in the past, you can say. We know more than other Dalish clans because we actually have something from the old days that teaches us. ” She looked at Solas over her shoulder. “ You’re a lot like us; your soul is old. ” Solas stiffened. Shiasiara turned around and walked towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. “ You’re a lot more transparent than you’d like to believe, ma falon. ” She grinned at him before walking passed him.  “Who’d thought we walked amongst two of the greatest deceivers of all existence? ” She left the rotunda chuckling. Solas turned to watch her retreating figure with a frown. 

She knew, then? Solas was beginning to understand Noah’s strange behavior as of late. The elf had said his clan was ruthless and dangerous but Solas was now becoming to understand just how dangerous they were. 

Solas was completely sure that Shiasiara was not the mage amongst them. He’d overheard Cullen talking with Josephine and learned that Athevera was the mage of them.

Then again, if what she said was true about Clan Aeradhen being old, magic must run through everyone in the clan. Magic, in the past, ran through every elf’s veins. Magic was second nature, it was as natural as breathing. If clan Aeradhen had embraced that notion from the past and were as ruthless as Noah had described, Thedas might just have more trouble on their plate than they realize.

* * *

 

Most of the morning, for Iron Bull, was spent training in the courtyard. Some time ago, he’d noticed there was a new face watching them. Seemed that was the reason why some of the soldiers around him were training harder than they usually did.

Iron Bull turned his head to glance at the Vimmarkan soldier sitting on the steps to the main hall watching them. He’d been doing that from time to time and would sometimes catch them swinging their arm, mimicking one of the inquisition or charger’s swings. Earlier, when he’d notice the soldier - though he mumblings of those around him, he was half expecting it to be the Qunari, Arvari or even one of the warriors watching them, but it was the small elven woman watching them. By the look of her unruly black hair, it was Athevera.

When the crowd around him had dispersed, he noticed her walking towards him. “ _Ataas shokras_!” She greeted in Qunlat. Bull raised an eyebrow at her.

“You speak Qunlat?” Iron Bull asked.

“‘Course I do!” She grinned. “I’m one of the Merchants of my clan. We do business with everyone. I have to know the language of the people I’m trading with. What if they suddenly try to attack me?”

“I’d think you’d see that ahead of time,” Bull snorted, causing Athevera to laugh.

“Yes. I can see when they’re jumping up and running at me with a knife but if they whisper it? It’d be easier on me if I can hear it coming too! _Vinek kathas!_ _Seize them!_ _Rapere eis!_ Even though we use the common tongue when we trade, its better to know what phrases to watch out for that’d be your cue to get the hell out of there.”

A grin slowly stretched across Bull’s face. “When I first saw you all approach, I was not expecting to find humor amongst your ranks.”

Athevera snorted, “Please, without a sense of humor, you’d probably go mad and run off or kill yourself.” Athevera tilted her head to the side slightly. “I’m sure he’s changed a lot, but,” Athevera crossed her arms. “Noalanniel didn’t have any sense of humor. Like I said: If you lack any sense of humor to keep your mind sane, you will loose it and either kill yourself or run off.”

“I see.” Iron Bull felt a slight frown tug at his brow.

“I’ve taken up enough of your time. Before I go running off, do they serve dinner here? I’m starving! I don’t want Thelris nor Shiasiara going out that gate hunting when they’re not familiar with this area.”

“Yeah. It’ll be in a few hours but I’m sure they’ll have no qualms about you going in there for a snack.”

“No, no. I’ll just wait until everyone is served.” Athevera smiled up at Bull. “Thank you. By the way, I’m Athevera but you can call me Vera.”

“The Iron Bull, most call me just Bull.” Bull nodded his head at her. Athevera raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Please to meet you The Iron Bull. I hope to see more of you in the future, of course. _Panahedan!_ ” With those parting words, she walked off back towards the main hall.

Bull watched her retreating back with a raised eyebrow. Maybe all that warning Noah did was just an over exaggeration of how the group really was.

* * *

 

Cylan walked aimlessly through the housing quarters hall. He’d briefly been in the main hall while they served dinner but noticed Noah’s absence. He’d inquired about it and was only told that ‘the inquisitor isn’t feeling well’. He wanted to see for himself the condition Noah was in. He did not trust the words of a human.

Thats what brought him saying he would be retiring to his assigned quarters early. He had hoped it would be easy to find Noah’s quarters but he’d come to find it was not so. Making it to the last door at the end of another hall, he assumed this one to be the room he was looking for.

Opening the door, he looked up the stairs with a slight frown marring his face. ‘ _Highest room in the tallest tower? You humans build so predictably,’_ He thought to himself. Looking around as he climbed the few stairs, he rounded the railing to see just who he was looking for. 

Noah laid on the bed on top of the covers. His head lay surrounded by large, comfortable looking pillows. He had one hand under the pillows and the other lay limply, half closed in a fist, next to his face. He was somewhat, half-curled, into a ball, breathing softly through slightly, parted lips.

Cylan made his way to the bed, stopping to stand over the sleeping elf. He reached out and placed the back of his hand against Noah’s cool forehead. He let his touch slowly trail down the side of his face. The elf’s skin was cool to the touch. He was not feverish nor did he look out of sorts. Straightening back up, he stared down at the elf. 

The mattress shifted and groaned as Cylan knelt on the bed. He hovered over the sleeping elf briefly, staring longingly at pale lips. He placed a hand on the side of Noah’s face, caressing his cheek with his thumb. Slowly, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Noah’s.

It started as an innocent pressing of the lips, Cylan only applying a small amount of pressure. The last thing Cylan expected was the elf to respond back through his slumber. When the dark haired elf pressed back, the kiss became more intense. One long kiss became several shorter kisses.

Cylan used the slight grip he had on Noah’s face to tilt his head to the side to gain better access and deepen the kiss. He used his tongue to press open Noah’s mouth, allowing their tongues to twirl together in a dance of dominance. He felt himself swell in his small clothes, his blood pumping through his veins like lava. It’d been years since he’d laid eyes on Noah and even longer that he’d been able to touch him in a manner such as this. He heard the elf under him give a light groan. Cylan let his grip on Noah’s face go and trailed it down the dark haired elf’s body. His hand settled over Noah’s crotch where he began to massage it slowly.

Noah grunted and made a low whining noise. He turned his head away from Cylan, locking his legs closed. “Stop it, Dorian. Not in the mood,” Noah grumbled, making another whining noise as he pushed at Cylan’s hand. 

Cylan froze and pulled away from Noah. He watched the elf turn away from him with another grunt. “Go ‘way, Dori,” Noah mumbled, sleep still thick in his voice.

_Dorian? Dorian? Who the hell was Dorian?_ Cylan’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. He reached his hand out, hell bent on waking the elf and demanding answers, but was stopped by a hand on his wrist. He looked up at the owner of the hand to see Gethrahel glaring at him through his helmet. Red eyes burned with irritation.

“ I figured I’d find you up here. What, exactly, do you think you are doing, Sothon? ” Gethrahel demanded in a low hiss.

“ I was just checking on him. The human said he wasn’t feeling well so I-”

“We have laid down our terms and they accepted along with their terms. And what were their terms? For you _not_ to touch him.”

“But Geth-“

“But _nothing._ I will not allow you to go against your word! You are representing, not only yourself, but clan Aeradhen. If you go against your word, you’re shaming Aeradhen!”

“Geth-“

“No!”  Gethrahel said, a little too loudly. They both froze when Noah grunted and shifted in his sleep.

“ Who is Dorian?” Cylan asked, looking back at Gethrahel.

“ Why?” Gethrahel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Cylan shrugged turning his gaze back to Noah. Gethrahel stepped away from the smaller elf and waited for him to move away from the bed.  “You will have all the time in the world to make up with Paimael when all of this is said and done with. He asked you not to touch him while he was here. Show him you’re capable of at least that and I’m sure everything else will work itself out.”  Gethrahel sighed when he realized Cylan wasn’t even paying attention to him. “Oy!” Gethrahel smacked Cylan in the back of the head. Cylan held his head and glared at Gethrahel. “Don’t do anything stupid!”

“Stupid? Me?”

“Yes. Stupid, you!” Gethrahel growled. “ Need I remind you of the Idmoun incident? We don’t need you going around chopping humans up because you _think_ they’re threatening your manhood.”

“What?! I was-!”

“Being stupid. Don’t argue, just leave. Him. Be.”

“Fine!” Cylan growled, crossing his arms.

“ Don’t get so upset, Sothon. You will have your time. Who knows, maybe he will cave and allow you to touch him earlier than when we go back to the city?” Gethrahel shrugged. “ Maybe you should ask Panonvera or Panonshi for some advice? Hell, I bet even Arvari could give you advice. The Kossith has always been highly regarded by Paimael, no?”

“Shi or Vera….? Arvari? I’d sooner have luck asking a nug’s permission to kill it.”

“Uh-huh. Come, come. How would it look if he were to wake up to you towering over him?” Gethrahel made a shooing motion at Cylan. The white haired elf sighed, walking towards the stairs. He glanced back at Noah’s still sleeping form.

“ Can I at least kiss him once? I’d like only that…”

“Please. I’m pretty sure you damn near molested him before I got up here. Get out, Sothon.”

Cylan glared at Gethrahel but didn’t argue. He was all but shoved out of the room by Gethrahel.

 


	4. Visions of An End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember underlined like this means its in elven

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**Visions of an End**

Noah stood at the end of the hall facing the door to his quarters. He didn’t remember when or how he even got there. The last thing he remembered was talking to Dorian then falling asleep.

“Dorian, Dorian, Dorian. Whatever should I do with you? I can’t fathom what it is he saw in you.”

Noah stiffened. That voice, so menacing and light, it could belong to no one other than Cylan. 

“Although I am very grateful you’ve taken care of him thus far, I just cannot stand by while you continue to corrupt him in a way only your kind is capable of.”

His tone of voice was slow and syrupy. If Noah didn’t know Cylan better, he’d think the man was giving Dorian praise. But he knew better. Everything Cylan said was meant as an insult, a sneer. His intentions were anything but good.

Noah walked to the door, slowly. He wanted to sprint, jog - anything faster than his current pace, but he found he couldn’t. It was as if he had no control over his legs. All he could do was watch himself walk.

“You’ve done enough. I will take him from here. It’s nothing personal, human. I actually liked you better than any other human I’ve come in contact with and that’s saying something.” He chuckled.

_Why wasn’t Dorian responding?_

_“_ You were just a distraction. Too much of a distraction. You must be worried about how he will respond to all this. Trust me, he will come around, you needn’t worry.”

Noah pushed the door open and stared up at the top of the stairs. His stomach dropped, nerves on edge. He heard a low gurgling sound briefly before it was silent again.

“He’ll be upset at the mess you’ve made…”

Noah slowly walked up the stairs.

“…I believe that’s him now. Shall we greet him together, Dorian?”

Reaching the top of the stairs, Noah rounded the railing. Cylan stood in front of the desk, his back towards Noah. He had one of his arms behind his back and the other gripping his chin. He tilted his head back to look at Noah over his shoulder. “ We were just having a delightful conversation about you, ma vhenan. Why don’t you come here, hm? Dorian would like to say his final goodbyes. ”

Noah slowly approached the other elf. Cylan turned to regard him fully and Noah stopped short of just reaching him.

Noah felt sick push at his throat. His eyes widened impossibly large as his brain slowly processed what it was he was looking at. 

It was Dorian. Dorian sans life.

Dorian’s eyes were half-lidded, glazed over with a lifeless sheen. A thin sword impaled his neck and another through his chest. Thick globs of blood bubbled from his mouth, giving an falsehood of hope that there was life still there. The thick blood thin’d into small rivulets, dripping down his neck, onto the already bloodied sword, down the hilt, and onto the desk.

Noah’s hands shot up to cover his mouth as he slowly sunk to the floor. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. “Dorian…”

“Now, now,” Cylan said, frowning. “That is no way to behave in front of company, ma vhenan.  No matter how sickening said company is .” Cylan stood in front of Noah. “Up.”

Noah ignored him in favor of staring at Dorian’s lifeless body.

“Get up, Noalanniel.”

“Why did you do this?” Noah glared up at Cylan through heavy tears. Cylan raised an eyebrow.

“Why I did what? I saved you from being corrupted. Now, get up.”

“Go to hell!” 

Cylan’s face twisted into an angry scowl. His features relaxed just as quickly. He shook his head slowly and ‘tsk’d. “That mouth of yours has gotten out of hand, ma vhenan.” Cylan kneeled down in front of Noah, his lips twitching into a brief smirk when the smaller elf flinched back. “ You’ve been away far too long, you’ve forgotten your place. ” He patted Noah’s cheek non-too-gently. “Get up, Paimael.”

Noah’s gaze returned to Dorian.

“This was necessary. No matter how little threat he posed to me, a threat is still a threat. You know how I deal with threats, love.”

Noah’s gaze snapped to Cylan, eyes narrowing. “You sick fuck!” 

As soon as the words left Noah’s mouth, Cylan raised his hand and slapped Noah across the face. Noah held his stinging cheek, his face still in the direction the slap had forced it in. “Enough!  I will tolerate your insolence no longer ,” Cylan growled. “Get up before I make you.”

Noah looked up at Cylan holding his slowly bruising cheek. “Bite me!”

Cylan’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. He reached down and gripped Noah by his neck and yanked him to his feet. Noah clawed at the taller elf’s hand. “This behavior of yours is foul. Do not tempt me, for when I bite, I will leave a scar.  _A scar deeper than flesh and bone._ _”_ Cylan’s last sentence was just a deadly hiss. He roughly pulled the struggling smaller elf over to the desk, forcing him to bend awkwardly to the side to lean against the desk. “Do you see that?” Cylan used his free hand to smash a fist into the blade sticking out Dorian’s neck. The blade made a ‘squelch’ sound as it was driven farther in, blood spurting out and spaying the desk. “This corpse is a warning for you, ma vhenan. Continue this horrendous behavior and I will do far worse than this.” Cylan brought Noah’s face closer. “Do I make myself clear?”

Noah choked out a low yes before he was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. He scrambled to his feet, using the desk for support. Pulling himself up again, he came face to face with Dorian. He felt tears well up in his eyes again.

“Strip and get in the bed,” Cylan said, pulling Noah’s attention away from Dorian. Cylan was facing the balcony with his arms crossed.

“What?”

“I will not repeat myself,” Cylan said, turning to look at Noah. His eyes held an ominous, amber glow.

“No!”

Cylan was quiet for a moment. He walked towards Noah, causing the smaller elf to tense. “I should have waited,” Cylan said. He stood next to Noah, staring at Dorian. Noah looked between Cylan and Dorian, confusion written all over his face. “Waited until you came up here first.” Cylan glanced at Noah from the corner of his eyes, a small, sly smirk gracing his face. “I think you witnessing his death would have had a bigger impact.” 

Noah tensed, glaring up at Cylan, lip curling in disgust. “You’re worse than what you make humans out to be!” 

Cylan raised his hand and Noah flinched away. Instead of the slap Noah was expecting, Cylan slammed his hands on either side of Noah, trapping him between the desk and himself.

“I thought I told you to watch that mouth of yours,” Cylan said, his voice monotonous. “You won’t learn until I beat the lesson into you, is that where we’re at?” He shook his head. “ You blindly defend these creatures even after all you’ve been through. You have not your entire memory of the ordeal but those who’ve witnessed it have tried ceaselessly to warn you. Why do you not heed their warnings? ” He caress Noah’s neck. 

“You used to be so compliant,” Cylan said, lowering his face to Noah’s neck. He moved his hand away to wrap loosely around Noah’s waist. “You spoke back but always did as I said.” He nuzzled his nose against Noah’s throat, breathing in deeply. He kissed the juncture of Noah’s neck where neck met shoulder. “I told you not to tempt me, love. The scars I’ll inflict won’t heal.” 

Noah cried out as pain exploded in the side of his neck. He brought his hands up to push at Cylan’s head but the elf snatched up both his hands and held them in an iron, one hand grip behind his back. Cylan’s other hand held fast to Noah’s head as the smaller elf continued to struggle against him.

Noah gritted his teeth and shuddered as the pain grew more intense. The burning sensation travelled from his neck to fan out throughout his entire body. He felt liquid warmth travel down his neck in small rivulets. 

Noah’s vision grew hazy, slowly morphing into darkness. “ When you come to, next, you shall see what it is I mean. Heed my warning well, ma vhenan .”

* * *

 

Noah gasped loudly, jolting up. He gripped his throat, eyes darting around the dimly lit room. He was in his quarters, on his bed. The room was empty. His eyes settled on the desk. Empty and clean. The room smelled of fire and burning wood like it normally did. No coppery tang of blood, nothing. It was as if what just transpired had never happened. “What was that…?” Noah’s hands felt about his neck then his cheek. Nothing out of the ordinary. He felt fine, if not a bit tired. He looked out the open balcony door. Orange rays of light peaked through the clouds, dawn most like it.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

Noah snapped his gaze towards the railing near the steps. Dorian stood there with a tray in hand. He raised an eyebrow at Noah’s large eye’d stare.

“You didn’t come down for dinner last night so-…Are you okay?” Dorian asked.

“It wasn’t real….” Noah whispered, causing Dorian to frown. “It was a dream - a nightmare…” Noah watched Dorian sit the tray of food down on the desk and approach him.

“Are you okay?” Dorian asked again. “You look as if you’ve seen a Sloth demon.”

“Dorian,” Noah breathed. Noah jumped up off the bed and threw his arms around the mage’s neck. “You’re alive, thank the Creators.”

“Uh,” Dorian coughed as Noah’s hold tightened around his neck. “I won’t be for long if you continue to strangle me.” Noah’s hold loosened and Dorian pulled away from him slightly. Dorian let his hands grip the elf’s hips lightly. “Besides, the chef isn’t that bad of a cook to kill us off yet. Something on your mind, amatus?”

Noah hesitated noticeably before shaking his head. Dorian frowned but allowed the elf to bury his face wordlessly into his neck.

The elf pulled away after sometime standing in silence. He looked Dorian in the face and bit his bottom lip. “Dorian, I…” He trailed off and said nothing farther. Dorian waited patiently for the elf to continue. Instead of Noah speaking, he reached up and smashed their lips together. Dorian grunted in surprised but then wrapped his arms tightly around the elf’s waist, pulling their bodies flushed together.

Noah walked them backwards until they fell on the bed, Dorian on top. Dorian knocked his knee in between the elf’s thighs and Noah spread his legs to wrap them around Dorian’s waist. Dorian pulled away from Noah and grinned down at him. “As much as I would love to have my wicked way with you so early this morn, I don’t think the others will appreciate our being late nor the condition I may leave you in, amatus.”

“Let them complain,” Noah whispered huskily, pulling Dorian’s head back to smash their lips together.

 

 


	5. Because

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> underlined is elven as par usual
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter will begin more action, _hazaah!_

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**Because**

“He doesn’t want me near him,”  Cylan said, crossing his arms and plopping down on the bed. He looked about the room briefly before his attention settled on Shiasiara. This was the room the human woman had showed him and the one Gethrahel had just ushered him back to. Shiasiara walked around the room, running her hands over the desk and walls. “How am I to convince him to come back to the city if he won’t let me near him?”

“You could always stay away and let the rest of us try, hm? You’re as persuasive as a nug,” Shiasiara said, smirking over her shoulder. “ _Oooo, please don’t kill me, ser. I know I look delectable and small and harmless, but please don’t kill me, hm! I may have meat on my bones that sustain you but please don’t eat me, ser! I know I don’t actually help you in any way when I’m alive, but please don’t kill me, ser, hm! If you let me live, I promise I will forget you let me live and meander the realm with no real purpose, ser, hm! Please, ser-_ ”

“Alright, alright. You’ve made your point,” Cylan said, throwing a glare her way. “Shut up.” He sighed, lying back on the bed. He folded his hands behind his head and stared blankly at the ceiling. “He’s with someone.”

“Oh? How do you figure, hm? The fact that he’s usually always with someone?”

“Shia-”

“I bet he’s been with everyone here. Especially all the humans. He did _love_ getting down and dirty with the filth, didn’t he, hm?”

“Shia…”

“I mean, ignore everything I just said.”

Cylan frowned. “When I went up to his room, he was sleeping and-”

“I already know where this is going.” Shiasiara laughed, turning to face Cylan. Cylan lifted slightly to look at her. Shiasiara placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly, a grin spreading across her face. “You went up there to get touchy feely with him and he happened to call out the wrong name, hm? Am I right?” Cylan was silent. He plopped back down on the bed and Shiasiara chuckled. “You’re too predictable, Cy. As is Noah.”

“You have no idea how hard it is to be around him and not be able to touch him.”

“Please, I’ve barked up that tree before with him. All I hear is you whining.” She walked over to the small, round table in the corner of the room. She sat down and picked up the empty bottle of wine sitting on top. “Why don’t you do something about it, hm? At least I can say I tried.”

“That’s why I called you in here. Geth said I should ask you, Arvari, or Vera for help. I’d sooner hang myself then ask Vera for help.”

“My sister isn’t that bad.”

“You’re biased. If I ask her about Paimael, she won’t let me live it down.”

“You mean she won’t let you live, right?” Shiasiara laughed. “Vera is really protective over him, isn’t she, hm?”

“Shia, I didn’t call you in here to talk about your sister.”

“You started it.” Shiasiara shrugged, tossing the bottle to the side. It landed on the floor with a loud clang then rolled under the bed. “Hn. This room is dull. What do you want me to help you with?”

“I just told you.” Cylan sat up and glared at her. “I need help getting him back.”

“No, no. You didn’t say that, you see,” Shiasiara said, standing. She walked over to Cylan and planted her fists on her hips. “You said you didn’t know how to get him back to the city. You told me you and Cyrmet had a meeting with him earlier and he agreed to come back to the city after we helped them. _But_ we already know that isn’t how it’ll play out, hm. Noah will come back to the city for all of a day and then disappear in the night again.” She made a flourishing motion with her arms. “You want him back as a mate, am I right? Something everyone in the city would gladly accept, hm? Because you’re the only one that seems to be able to keep tabs on him and keep him under control, hm? Even though you failed all of that in the end.”

“…” Cylan stared blankly at Shiasiara. He rolled his eyes a moment later. He was tempted to make a snide comment but decided against it at the last minute. “Yes.”

“If I were Vera, I would tell you to court him with gifts, song, and frilly crap.” Shiasiara crossed her arms with a smirk. “If I were Arvari, I’d tell you to show off your strength and court him with gifts and frilly crap. Then again, the Kossith is probably clueless about the art of courting so scratch out the last two things I said.”

“And if you were you?” Cylan raised an eyebrow.

“What a stupid question. Are you sure you want to spend eternity with Noah by your side? You’re an idiot and he’s a bigger idiot and two idiots together…Creators, please reconsider! Let’s let him stay out here. There are more people who would be a better fit-”

“Shia!” Cylan snapped, sitting up. “You will stop insulting my mate.”

“From what I gathered, he’s not your mate anymore.” Shiasiara smirked. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in here. None of us would be here. In fact, if you weren’t so much of an idiot and Noah wasn’t so much of a whore, we wouldn’t be here, hm. You have no control over-”

“Silence,” Cylan snapped. “Just tell me what to do.”His eyes narrowed when Shiasiara opened her mouth. “Something that doesn’t involve forgetting about him.”

“What did you even do to get him in bed the first time?”

Cylan kept silent, his gaze steadily growing in intensity.

“Fine. You have two options: scare him or jog his memory,” Shiasiara said. “My advice to you, since he doesn’t want anything to do with you, is to scare the fuck out of him, hm.” She shrugged.

“How would I even accomplish that?” Cylan asked, frowning. “He is not afraid of me.”

“Because you're an idiot.” Shiasiara shrugged. “Who is he with now?”

“Someone named Dorian.”

“Dorian?” Shiasiara raised an eyebrow. “Dorian is the name of that human mage in the library. I think he’s from Tevinter. How _hard_ old habits die, hm.”

“How did you even figure that out?”

“While you were molesting your ex in his sleep, I’ve been walking around the hold learning a thing or two.” Shiasiara smirked as Cylan narrowed his eyes at her. “What? You know you were going to go all the way even while he was sleep. Don’t give me that look, idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Cylan snapped.

“Look,” Shiasiara said, sighing. “I’ll help you since you’re so clueless.”

“How?”

“A buddy of mines owes me a favor. Don’t worry your pretty, little head about it, hm.”

“Who?” Cylan asked with a frown. A slow, malicious grin spread across Shiasiara’s face. Her eyes closed briefly before opening again. There was a faint amber glow surrounding her eyes.

“A friend.”

Cylan frowned. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

“Shia.” Cylan’s eyes narrowed.

“You know what’s hilarious?” Shiasiara spun on her heels suddenly and stared up at the ceiling. “This is - well was Dorian’s room.”

“What?!”

“I can’t believe this. This is rich!” Shiasiara laughed. It sounded borderline crazed as she bent over holding her sides. “Past lover living in current lover’s room. It sounds like some sappy romance tale from a human book, hm.”

“Shia-”

“I’m tired.” Shiasiara straightened and turned to look at Cylan with a frown. “Do you want to do this tonight or wait until the morning, hm?”

“He’s leaving out in the morning. I’m not sure how early…I would have liked to accompany him but-“

“I’ll do it.”

“Do…what?”

“I’ll go along with him in the morning. I’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he’s not up to his old ways, hm?” Shiasiara smirked. “In the meantime, I think calling on my friend tonight would be better than tomorrow.”

“How long will it take?”

“Not long at all.” Shiasiara crossed her arms. “Paimael is asleep.”

“He should be. The last I left him-”

“You know what I mean.” Shiasiara raised an eyebrow.

“Wait…you don’t mean…”

“This little band of humans need all the help they can get, right? They’re dealing with more than just Darkspawn here, hm. These are demons pouring from the Fade, Archdemons dropping from the sky, and stupid human zealots high on corrupted lyrium acting as an army of puppets to an even more delusional and uglier human. Wouldn’t this be a good excuse to wake him up? I mean…think about it.”

“…Are you insane?” Cylan looked away from Shiasiara with a frown. “You realize what you’re suggesting is borderline suicide? Especially with us being so far from the city.”

Shiasiara sniggered. Her sniggering gradually grew into loud, boisterous laughter. Cylan glared at her. “My _goodness!_ ” She exclaimed, holding her sides. “I can’t believe it. You, of all people, are terrified by the idea of waking him up!” She wiped at the corner of her eye before straightening again.

“Me of all people? You’d have to be insane to even-” Cylan sighed. “Never mind, I’m talking to _you_. You _are_ insane.” Cylan crossed his arms in a huff.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Shiasiara sniggered. “It’s not everyday someone survives sleeping with darkspawn, hm.”

Cylan rolled his eyes. “Sleeping. Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“Is it any different from you or Noah, hm? Or anyone else in the city? I’ve just taken it a step farther. We wouldn’t need to bring him back if everyone stopped trying to mimic me.” Shiasiara placed her hands on Cylan’s shoulders and pushed him back on the bed. “It goes to show, there are more morons in our race than we’d like to believe.” She hopped on the bed and straddled his hips with a sultry grin. “Seems like Cylan Jr. is interested.”

Cylan glared at her. “Shia-”

“Shhhhh…Let me work, you big baby. I won’t wake him, just put a little scare on him. Make him realize this is real. Make him fear being away from you.”

“Shia-”

“Hush now. As an added bonus, maybe we can scare the human off too, hm?” Shiasiara lowered her head to whisper in Cylan’s ear. “Just relax,” she purred. “I’ll handle the big bad wolf.”

Cylan said nothing. He felt lighter, suddenly. His vision blurring at the edges. Shiasiara pulled away from the side of his neck and grinned down at him. That was the last thing he saw before everything faded away.

* * *

 

Dorian clasped the last snap on his robe together. He ran his hand down his chest with a sigh. Once again, they were interrupted from getting intimate by Cullen, who just _had_ to remind them that Noah had to leave. Dorian ran his hand through his hair before turning to look at Noah. He frowned. The elf was standing at the end of the bed in only his pants and boots, staring out the balcony door. He had his shirt in his hand, wringing it nervously. “Noah?” Dorian called. The elf snapped to attention and looked at him.

“Huh?”

“Are you okay? You seem a little…distracted.” Dorian walked up to Noah and placed a hand on his hip.

“I…I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Dorian placed a hand on Noah’s cheek. Noah bit his bottom lip as he gazed into Dorian’s eyes.

“I…I need to tell you something.” He chewed on his bottom lip.

“I’m all ears, amatus.”

He let out a shaky exhale and plopped down on the bed. He hung his head and let out another low sigh. “Well, you see…” He paused and looked up at Dorian with a small frown. “You remember when you were telling me about human marriage customs?”

Dorian’s eyebrows rose. _Is this his way of proposing?_ Dorian couldn’t help but imagine the setting to be a little bit more romantic than this. The bedroom was nice and all but he still thought somewhere more open would be more appropriate. He also didn’t picture Noah to be the nervous, stuttering type. “Yes,” Dorian replied.

“Eh… _How do I say this_ …” Noah grumbled, looking down at the ground. He scratched at the nap his neck, something he normally did when he was at a lost for what to say or do next. Dorian found the quirky gesture endearing in it’s own rite. “I’m in what would be your human’s equivalent to a marriage.”

Dorian stared. And stared some more. He opened his mouth then closed it, staring. He blinked slowly, still staring. “You’re quite full of surprises,” Dorian said slowly. “I take it you’re not happily married, given how you just said that.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m married, I’m engaged, I tied the knot, I’m bound by love, I found my soul mate - these are things people usually say.”

“It was arranged.”

“Ah, so you’re trapped.” Dorian sat down next to Noah. “I assume it’s one of the Vimmarkan soldiers wandering around the hold?”

“Yeah…” Noah rubbed his arm with a frown. Dorian let out a huff of air through his nose and wrapped an arm around the slightly smaller male, pulling him closer to him.

“Have I the need to feel threatened you’ll be stolen from me?” Dorian breathed in Noah’s ear.

“Not…emotionally…” Noah mumbled causing Dorian to frown.

“What do you mean?” Dorian lifted his head when Noah pulled away from him slightly. The elf was frowning.

“I love you, Dorian. That will never change.” Noah placed a hand on Dorian’s cheek.

“Emotionally.” Dorian leaned in and pressed his lips lightly to Noah’s. “What is physically?”

“They’re trying to drag me back to the city. I don’t want to go but…” Noah looked away. Dorian pulled back, a deep frown marring his face.

“But…?”

Noah shrugged and said nothing farther.

“Who is it? Whom are you married to?” Dorian asked.

“Nothing,” Noah replied. Dorian sighed. He was not getting any answers out of the elf. When Noah didn’t want to talk, he clammed up and refused to speak. No amount of begging or sweet-talking would change his mind.

“I love you too,” Dorian said, pressing his lips briefly to Noah’s cheek. Noah looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Will you come with me this morning?”

“I’m sure Cullen would find a way to ruin that, don’t you think?” Dorian grinned. “I think Cullen has some sort of device that tells him the exact moment he should seek you out. It’s like he wants to see you naked.” Noah chuckled.

“I’m sure he does.” Noah smiled weakly. It was the first time Dorian had seen Noah attempt to express a positive emotion for a while now. Before now, he was used to seeing the elf up and about; all grins and smiles, joking and laughing. He wasn’t used to the melancholiness elf before him now.

“Now,” Dorian said, standing. He pulled the elf to his feet and grinned at him. “I do believe it is about time we head out, ‘least we have Cullen come and bite our heads off.”

“Yeah.”

Dorian pressed his lips lightly to Noah’s cheek and stepped away. “Anyone else coming along?”

“I was thinking Varric and Bull.”

“Ah, yes, yes.” Dorian nodded. “While you get dressed, I’ll alert them for you.”

“Thank you.”

Dorian grinned; though, something caught his eye. There was a red splotch on Noah’s neck. It looked to be like a rash. He wasn’t too sure if it had always been there but he was just now noticing it. “Seems like you have a bit of irritation on your shoulder, here.” Dorian lightly ran the tips of his fingers across Noah’s neck. “I’ll swing by the healers and pick up a little something for it.” With that said, Dorian pressed another brief kiss on Noah’s cheek and walked away.

Noah stared after Dorian with a frown. He cupped his neck with his hand. “A rash…?” His eyes widened. Could it be that the dream wasn’t _just_ a nightmare?

 


	6. The Reaver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember underlined like this means its in elven
> 
> I apologize for the really long wait. I have been really stressed out lately and sitting down to think about anything new to come up with for both school and my stories as been really trying... I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try to get started on the next one right away.

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**The Reaver**

Noah closed the room door behind him with a sigh. There was no use dwelling over…whatever that was. Maybe he was just being paranoid. _Yeah. Paranoid….He’s not a mage…He’s not a dreamer, there is no way that could have been him._ Noah reasoned. The only dreamer among them was Athevera and she would never do anything like that. Noah let out a sigh. _I need to stop thinking about it…hopefully this mission will distract me enough…_

Noah let out another sigh as he walked down the hall. He opened the door to the main hall and froze. Cylan stood in his way, his hand in an out stretched position. His eyes were slightly larger than usual and his eyebrows were raised. 

“Oh…” Cylan made a small noise of surprise. Noah’s back stiffened. The side of his neck felt oddly warm. “Hello.”

Noah didn’t respond. They stared at each other - or rather Cylan was trying his best to make eye contact with Noah who was going out of his way to avoid that. “…I need to get through.”

“Noalan, it has been years since we last saw one another,” Cylan said. “Decades…I would like for us to have to some time to catch up.” Noah looked at him.

“…I…can’t.”

“Why is that?” Cylan’s brows drew together.

“I haven’t any free time because of my duties…”

“Your duties?” Cylan asked, his eyes narrowing. Noah did not like where this way going.

“Yes…duties…”

“What duties?”

“My duties to the inquisition…”

“Duties to the inquisition?” Cylan shook his head. “So these humans aren’t just bluffing? You really _are_ their leader? Or are you just a figure head? A ploy to something deeper than you can comprehend? I wouldn’t put it passed these filthy creatures to-“

“It’s not like that,” Noah snapped, almost regretting it instantly when Cylan’s face twisted into an angry scowl at being interrupted. “It’s for a worthy cause. I trust them and they trust me.”

“Trust?” Cylan sneered. “If anyone trusted you, they’d be a fool.”

“What’s that supposed to me?”

“It means,” Cylan said, taking a step towards Noah. Noah stepped back causing Cylan to grin slightly. He walked the shorter elf backwards until his back touched the wall.“You’re more of a liar than these humans. No tale that slips past their lips can match the tales you spin. Your web of lies are a thing to marvel…the fact that its hard to catch you in them is even more amazing.”

“What lies?” Noah’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re lying to them, to us, and to yourself. You don’t even know who you are anymore.” Cylan shook his head and sighed. He rested his arm slightly above Noah’s head. “Such potential…wasted…and why? To fulfill this sick desire of yours to lay with these filthy creatures. Why do you seek them out when there are so many of your own that would be more worthy and willing to be with you?”

“You mean go back to the city and be your plaything?” Noah asked. He flinched when Cylan tapped him on the nose with his finger.

“Now, you know you were more to me than some common whore. I loved you….and I still do.” Cylan grasped Noah’s chin. “No amount of time passing being away from you will change that…” He leaned in close, the tips of their noses touched. Noah’s breath hitched. “Nothing will come between us. We were destined to be together…” Their lips were just a hairsbreadth away. Noah felt the heat in his neck travel up to his face. His heart was hammering in his chest. _Why do I feel like this?_ “No human is going to change that.”

Cylan pressed their lips together. The kiss was slow and sweet - something Noah was definitely not expecting from the taller elf. Noah’s eyes fluttered closed on their own accord. He felt the taller elf wrap an arm around his waist while his other cradled his face. _Why am I doing this?_

Cylan pulled away enough to look Noah in the face. The flushed elf opened his eyes. _Why can’t I pull away?_

“Two days,” Cylan whispered.

“Two days?” Noah repeated faintly.

“This fling you have with the human will end.” Cylan cradled Noah’s cheek and kissed him on the forehead. “I will wait no longer. Do not make me take matters into my own hand. The outcome will not be pleasant.” He pulled away from him and walked back to the main hall. Noah slowly slid down the wall until his butt was planted firmly on the ground with his knees bent to his chest. He stared after Cylan long after he disappeared. After another bout of tense silence, he ran his hand roughly across his face. The heated flush of his skin gave way to a deep ache in his head and in his chest. _What am I to do…_

He couldn’t very well abruptly end his relationship with Dorian. Dorian would be upset and it would destroy Noah…but if he didn’t end the relationship, there was a chance Dorian would be killed. _“Maybe I should just die…”_ Noah muttered sourly. Would that even help? He had a strong feeling Cylan would find a way to make his dying moot. _I wouldn’t put it passed the psychopath to…_ Noah’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sound of someone calling his name. He looked up to see Dorian standing there with a raised eyebrow.

“What _are_ you doing, amatus?” Dorian asked. Even though his lips were twisted into an amused grin, there was a hint of worry in his eyes. 

“Counting the panels on the floor?” Noah smiled weakly. Dorian raised an eyebrow and held out his hand. Noah took it andthe mage pulled him to his feet.

“Everyone is all set to leave.” Dorian eyed the elf with a furrow in his brow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“…Yeah.” Noah hesitated before answering. Dorian’s frown deepened but he didn’t say anything farther.

* * *

 

“I could live in a place like this,” Shiasiara said, grinning. She twirled her dagger in one hand. Gripping the handle tightly, she sprinted forward into the crowd of moaning, rotting corpses. She struck out with her daggers in a wild flurry of movement as she dashed between the undead fiends. She slid to a stop and threw her dagger up and caught it. 

Everyone, save Noah, gave her a perturbed look at the declaration. They were in the Fallow Mires following requisitions to collect certain items for a university in Orlais and the doctors of Skyhold. One was just a simple geological survey while the other could very well spell life or death for those who actually _did_ live in the Mires.

“Why would you?” Iron Bull asked. He tensed his legs briefly before twirling with his great axe.

“Come on! Fighting everyday, all day? An endless battle of shit to slice up? Who wouldn’t want to live in a place of endless battle, hm?”

“Nearly everyone in Thedas?” Varric asked slowly, picking off corpses from his position slightly behind Noah.

“Pfft…Bunch of spineless cretins, you lot are, hm.”

“Eventually those bodies will stop popping up,” Iron Bull said.

“I guess you’re right,” Shiasiara sighed. “I’ll just stick with Vimmarkan then. At least I know there, the bodies will never stop dropping.”

Again, everyone save Noah looked at her. “I think we have enough. Let’s get back to camp,” Noah said.

“Awe, so soon?” Shiasiara whined. “I thought you of all people would want to stay out here a little longer and have some fun!”

“No,” Noah said, glaring at her. “This is not fun— nothing about this is fun. This is disgusting and disturbing.”

“Fooey.” Shiasiara huffed, crossing her arms. “Alright, alright…I guess it is a little bit different than what I’m used to anyway. Human corpses have a more tart smell to them. Not very pleasing.”

* * *

 

They had returned to camp with little trouble. Shiasiara sat in front of the fire twirling one of her throwing knives. She’d been aimlessly looking over the other inhabitants of the camp:the nameless human inquisition soldier, the dwarf with the crossbow, the Qunari warrior, and that human mage, Dorian, and Noah. 

Her gaze stopped on the two when she noticed just how close they were sitting. Noah was practically in his lap. Dorian had his arm wrapped around Noah’s waist and a hand cradling the elf’s cheek. Their foreheads were pressed together as they whispered to each other. Shiasiara could have easily figured out what they were saying but just the way they were looking at each other made her not want to. “ If Cylan saw this, he would behead the human in an instant, ” Shiasiara said. She smirked inwardly when Noah jerked away from the mage to look at her. Outwardly, her face was a blank mask. “ But I’m sure if Cyrmet saw this, he would slit _your_ throat. ” Noah said nothing but his eyes narrowed. He stood and stalked off towards one of the tents. Shiasiara giggled then noticed everyone’s gaze on her. She raised her eyebrow, silently daring one of them to say something. They didn’t. They went back to doing whatever it was they were doing. All except Dorian, of course. Dorian was staring at the fire with a frown, his arms crossed.

“ I do love to ruin things ,” Shiasiara said, giggling to herself. Dorian looked at her briefly then turned his attention back to the fire.

* * *

 

“Noalan? Noalan?  Hey Noah, can you hear me? ” 

Noah’s eyes slowly fluttered open briefly before closing. He hadn’t even known he fell asleep, though he felt a bit flushed.

“You okay, Noël?”

Noah’s eyes snapped open. _That nickname…Why was it so familiar?_ Noah’s eyes finally managed to focus on the person hovering over him. It wasn’t Dorian. In fact, it wasn’t anyone he ever remembered coming in contact with. The man had a strong, chiseled face with dark stubble covering above his lip and on his chin. Clear, narrow, teal eyes gazed down at him filled with a friendly warmth and a tint of worry. From this position, Noah could make out the tip of a sword hilt peaking over the man’s broad shoulders. For some reason, a warm feeling of familiarity washed over him as the man’s thin lips stretched into a relieved grin.

“Lethallin, get up,” the man grumbled. That was odd. He was obviously human but why did he speak elven so fluidly. “We haven’t even traveled that far.”

“Huh?” Noah moaned. The man chuckled.

“Geez, Noël, if you were that tired, you should have said so.”

Noah felt a strong arm pull him up into a sitting position. That gave Noah the chance to look around his surroundings. They were surrounded by trees - some type of forest. By the looks of the trees, they were somewhere in the southern part of the free marches. _Why are we here?_ His eyes rested on the man looking at him with worry.

“ Are you okay? You fainted. ”

“Ah?” Noah felt a sudden sharp pain wracked his body causing him to tremble.

The teal eyed man frowned. “ It seems the farther we get from the city, the worse you get, ” he said. “ Why does this happen now? ” He helped Noah to his feet. Noah leaned weakly against the man, staring up at him through half-lidded eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He sounded alarmed. Why did he sound like that? Noah felt the man brush his cheek. “Is the pain getting too much? You’re crying.” _I’m crying?_ “We’re almost to Ostwick. We’ll find you a healer than off to Markham we go.” 

The man wrapped an arm around Noah’s waist and another across his back to cradle his head. “Is it your head that pains you?” The man asked. Noah opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. _My head feels like it’s going to explode. Why can’t I talk? Where is this place? How did I get here?_

The man pulled away slightly and stared down at Noah. “ Come on, I’ll carry you.”

Noah’s eyes drooped closed. He felt himself being maneuvered to lean against something - possibly a tree. He heard rustling before he felt the man’s hands on him again. He was lifted and his arms were moved to wrap around - Noah’s eyes opened slightly. It was the man’s shoulders. He had picked him up to carry him on his back. The sword Noah had seen earlier was held in his hand by the scabbard.The man looked over his shoulder at Noah with a frown.

“I know it hurts. Try to hang in there just a little longer. We should be there by nightfall,” he said. _Am I still crying?_ Noah’s eyes drooped closed again.

* * *

 

Noah’s eyes snapped open as he was roughly shaken. He stared blearily up at Dorian who was hovering over him. After blinking his vision clear, he glared at him. “What the hell, Dorian?” Noah snapped sleepily.

“You were crying in your sleep,” Dorian said with a frown.

“Was I?” Noah asked quietly. Dorian was silent as he observed the elf. Noah’s eyes had an unfocused glaze over them, tears still steadily falling from them. He turned on his side away from Dorian and stared at the wall of the tent.

“Do you wish to speak on it?” Dorian asked after a moment of silence.

“No.”

Dorian sighed. He was expecting as much. They’d been in a relationship for a solid 6 months. He’d learned more about Noah in these past few days than he had over the course of their entire relationship. “You would feel much better if you got whatever is troubling you off your chest.”

“No.”

“Noah-”

“Drop it.”

Dorian exhaled deeply before lying back down. There was no point in fighting Noah over it. The elf was stubborn.

Noah bit his lip as he heard Dorian’s breathing even out as he fell asleep. _What the hell was that? It felt so real….like the other dream._

* * *

 

Glowing amber eyes opened to glare into the emptiness of the night. _Who was that?_ “Interesting…” they mumbled into the still night.

 


	7. A Whole Lot Of Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember underlined like this means it's in elven
> 
> It's getting difficult to continue.

**Char: Dorian & Noah**

**Shattered Glass**

**A Whole Lot of Nothing**

Noah sighed, leaning back on the tub. He let his hand drop outside of the water, feeling his way along the side of the tub until he felt the familiar engraving of a fire rune. He rubbed his finger over the rune briefly, idly wondering if he should call for someone to reactivate it. He let his head drop back, closing his eyes with another sigh. 

He was just glad to be out of the Mire. He despised that place and hated it when people requested something from there. As far as he was concerned, their business in the Mire was over with. If anyone else wanted something, they could do it themselves.

He’d rather send an inquisition soldier in his stead. It’s not that he was a coward and was afraid to fight the undead - on the contrary, he vaguely remembers doing something similar growing up. 

Noah raised a hand to his forehead with a frown. Every time he tried thinking about it, his mind blanked out…like there was some sort of fog that materialized and clouded his head every time he thought he was close to…thinking of something from his past.

Noah shook his head briefly. What was he even thinking about in the first place?

_The Mire. Right…_ He wasn’t afraid of the mire and fighting the undead, he was just tired of smelling like rotting anus when they were done. 

Noah let out a satisfied sigh when the water began to heat up again. He brought his head down to stare into glowing amber eyes that sparkled with amusement.

“You have an air of confusion about you. What is the matter?” Athevera asked. Noah dropped his head back with another sigh. Athevera sat down at the side of the tub on her legs. “Noalan, you seem a little out of it. Are they treating you well here?”

“Yes,” Noah grunted. Athevera frowned.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Noalan…”

Noah brought his head up to look at Athevera. There was a spark of annoyance in his eyes. “I said yes. Now drop it.” 

Athevera’s eyes widened slightly at the outburst. Her shock soon turned to contentment as she smiled at him. “You’ve changed a lot, Noala- Noah,” she whispered. Noah grunted in response, dropping his head back again.

Athevera let out a low sigh before reaching over Noah and grabbing the sponge he held loosely in his hand. Noah opened his eyes and looked at her. She paid him no mind as she submerged the sponge in the water and ran it across his skin.

No words were exchanged. He watched her sponge his body down for all of 5 minutes before he dropped his head forward and closed his eyes. His body completely relaxed under her gentle ministrations. The sounds of the water and the feel of the warm sponge caressing his body lulled him into a light, dreamless sleep.

Athevera watched Noah’s features slowly relax. She smiled small at the tell-tale slowing of breath that he’d fallen into a somewhat deep of sleep. Her gaze travelled to his slightly parted lips where it stayed for some time. She slowly maneuvered her body forward, leaning more on the tub to tip her head sideways, pressing her lips gently to Noah’s.

“ _And here I thought you had more self control than the other runt._ ” 

Athevera started. She pulled away from Noah quickly but carefully to look behind her. Gethrahel sat on the couch with his arms crossed, head down, and one leg resting at the ankle on top of the other. “Gethrahel!”

“What are you doing?” Gethrahel asked. “ Besides molesting Noalan.” Gethrahel snorted.

“I-I wasn’t _molesting_ him,” She screeched. Pausing, she looked to at Noah. He slept on. She gave a sigh of relief before looking back at the other elf. “I was just…I just kissed him good night, is all. I was giving him a sponge bath, since you’re so adamant at knowing everything.” She crossed her arms with a huff, standing to her feet. “What are _you_ doing up here?”

“Making sure _you_ don’t do anything untoward,” Gethrahel grunted. “You and Cylan….Are more alike than you realize.” 

“Why do you care?” Athevera dropped her arms to her sides. “Since when have you been father of the year?”

“Since now. Leave.” Gethrahel stood up, his arms still crossed.

“You do not order me about,” Athevera seethed. “I care about Noalan a great deal. I would _never_ hurt him!”

“And if I hadn’t of come in to interrupt you?” Gethrahel tilted his head to the side. A red, sinister glow radiated from behind his helmet in place of his eyes. “Do not forget your place, Panonril. You may be his wife, but I am his father. My word supersedes yours. You will leave. Now.” Athevera took a step back. Her eyes narrowed to angry slits but she left without a word. As she left, his words followed after her: “It would seem neither you nor Cylan can be trusted to carry out the mission given to us.”

A moment of silence passed as Gethrahel stared down at Noah’s still sleeping form. He sighed heavily. “Why do you insist on skulking about?” Gethrahel looked up towards the balcony. Shiasiara was leaning against the closed balcony door.

“The shadows are more becoming of me, hm,” She said, a smirk stretching across her face slowly. She was silent, watching Gethrahel’s every moment. Gethrahel had picked Noah out of the tub of water to lay on the couch, drying him with a piece of cloth he had procured from Creators only knew where.

“I find it odd you still remember how to dress someone other than yourself,” Shia said, chuckling. Gethrahel didn’t pause in his motions nor did he acknowledge that anything was said to him. “Not in a talking mood, are you, hm?” Still silence. 

Gethrahel picked Noah up and placed him in the bed, tucking him in. 

“ How sweet. You’re playing good father all of a sudden? You weren’t this cuddly when he was back in the city. ” 

Gethrahel sat back down in his previous spot on the couch. He crossed his arms and let his head drop.

“Hn….W-“

“The Keeper knows that this mission is dangerous,” Gethrahel said. “He wouldn’t think twice if we were to return with one less person.” Gethrahel looked up at Shia, eyes glowing red. Her grin was replaced with a grim line. “That would be including Noalan with our numbers.”

Shiasiara said nothing. 

“ My patience wears thin with your continued presence. ”

Shiasiara knew a dismissal when she heard one. And by the threatening lowering of his voice, she knew he was on the verge of acting out his earlier unspoken threat. She huffed, melting into the darkness of the room. 

Gethrahel turned his gaze to Noah at the almost inaudible grunt. The elf had one hand fisted in the sheets, his face twisted into an expression of agony. His breath was coming out in rapid puffs. Gethrahel’s eyes glowed red briefly. Noah’s facial features relaxed and he was once again breathing lowly.

Gethrahel sat back on the couch and lowered his head.

* * *

 

It wasn’t too cold nor was it too hot. It was just right. Noah’s weary eyes opened slowly. A silly story about 3 bears and a golden haired, human child came to mind, making Noah let out a small chuckle. The warmth that surrounded him shifted slightly. A rough, almost prickly sensation smoothed over Noah’s cheek briefly. “ _You’re awake. What’s on your mind?” _ The deep familiar voice of the warrior caressed the elf’s ear.

‘ _The story of bears.’_ Noah tried to say but all that came out was a low guttural sound. The warrior said nothing but let out a soft sigh.

“ We’re a day away from Ostwick. We’ll find a healer and make our way to Markham…Though, I’ve been thinking…maybe we should go to Kirkwall or Highever instead.”

Noah moved his head slightly but said nothing. A sharp pain shot through his head, making him gasp loudly.

“ It's happening again…isn’t it?”  The warrior came into Noah’s blurry eyed view. He was frowning sadly. Noah groaned as the pain began to intensify. “Noah?” It felt as if fire flowed through his veins. His vision slowly melted away into white. The pain became almost unbearable until -

Nothing. He felt nothing. Saw nothing. He couldn’t feel the warmth around him any longer, didn’t feel the burning pain in his head. He couldn’t hear the crackling of the fire, nor the sweet nothings whispered into his ear by the warrior. It was blank. There was nothing.

_Am I dead?_


End file.
